Let Us Tell You About Honey Bee Resources

As beekeepers and bee lovers, we love to share about the riches that come from bee hive resources. As a business, BEEpothecary creates artisan batches of health, skin and hair care products made with beehive resources – propolis, honey, pollen and beeswax. We have a particular passion for propolis and have pent several years pouring over scientific research on the use of propolis for health and illness. We have several presentations that we do for beekeeping conferences, honey festivals, individual beekeeper clubs and homesteading/natural living festivals. We offer Power Point programs with demonstrations and sampling of various products and raw materials. We also buy raw propolis (and other hive resources) from other beekeepers by the pound and can provide instructions for how to clean it to prepare for sale.

Our presentations include:

The health benefits of hive resources;

How to collect clean and prepare hive products for use in value added products;

Different forms of hive products that can be marketed;

How to make many different products using bee resources;

The categorizing, production and labeling laws that must be followed to market value added hive products other than honey;

Honey Bees and Beekeeping, for non-beekeepers

Combinations of two or more of these topics in one presentation.

Our speaking charge is $100 for a 45 – 90 min presentation, plus travel costs. (We are willing to negotiate, in some cases, for smaller groups with a limited budget.) We love sharing about the amazing health benefits of hive resources with others! If your club, conference or event is in need of a speaker on any of these topics, please contact us at beepothecary@gmail.com or call 1-450-2339.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

One of the characteristics of propolis is its ability to act as an antioxidant in the body. This means it has the ability to removes potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism. Oxidative stress occurs when an oxygen molecule splits into single atoms with unpaired electrons, which are called free radicals. This causes damage to cells, proteins and DNA. Free radicals are associated with human disease, including cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and many others. Substances that generate free radicals can be found in the food we eat, the medicines we take, the air we breathe and the water we drink. and include things like fried foods, alcohol, tobacco smoke, pesticides and air pollutants. Scientist are doing research to find out if propolis can be an effective treatment for stopping or slowing down the damage caused by the process of oxidative stress.

One study called, “Effect of propolis flavonoids on Alzheimer disease mice induced by D-galactose,”from 2010,was done in China at Harbin Medical University. The objective of this study was to research the effects of propolis flavonoids on three antioxidant enzymes in cells , two that protect against oxidative damage in the brain and one that increases oxidative damage and plays a role in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.

Sixty mice with Alzheimer’s Disease were divided into six groups. Three experimental groups were administrated high,middle and low dosages of propolis flavonoids(300,150,75 mg/kg) ORALLY. After 50 days,the mice were killed and brains were examined. The levels of the two beneficial antioxidants were significantly higher in the experimental groups, while the levels of the destructive enzyme was significantly lower than that of model group. The conclusion drawn from this research is that propolis flavonoids could increase the brain index, promote the body’s antioxidant activity, enhance the clearance of metabolic waste, and inhibit the activity of the destructive enzyme. Therefore propolis flavonoids could protect cells, delay senility and improve Alzheimer’s Disease symptoms.

Another study, “Bioactive Metabolites from Propolis Inhibit Superoxide Anion Radical, Acetylcholinesterase and Phosphodiesterase (PDE4),” from 2013, tested the propolis flavonoids’ free radical scavenging activity. Substances that have this action are considered targets for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and Chronic Obstructive pulmonary disease- COPD. Results of this research showed that propolis could moderately inhibit the destructive free radicals tested and could contribute to further research on alternative drugs for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as asthma and COPD.

A study done in early 2017, “The Neuroprotective Effects of Brazilian Green Propolis on Neurodegenerative Damage in Human Neuronal SH-SY5Y Cells” investigated the effects of propolis on oxidative stress in the brain. Oxidative stress and synapse dysfunction are the major neurodegenerative damage correlated to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have found that Brazilian green propolis (propolis) improves the cognitive functions of mild cognitive impairment patients living at high altitude; however, mechanism underlying the effects of propolis is unknown. The results of the study strongly suggest that propolis protects from the neurodegenerative damage in neurons through the properties of various antioxidants. The present study provides a potential molecular mechanism of Brazilian green propolis in prevention of cognitive impairment in AD as well as aging.

These studies seem to indicate that propolis could be an effective part of treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. We have to hope that our FDA will someday embrace natural and alternative medicine as successful treatments for disease.

Psalm 103

1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.2 Praise the Lord, my soul,and forget not all his benefits—3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

We’ve been sharing some customer stories and pictures for several years at fairs and festivals, telling about their successes using propolis on wounds. Though the pictures can be found on our Facebook page, it recently occurred to me that we have never shared them on this blog, where you can see the pictures AND read the story. So, today, I am going to do this and here is a warning:

IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT WOUND PICTURES, THEN SKIP THIS BLOG ENTRY. DO NOT SCROLL DOWN ANY FURTHER!

Now that you have been forewarned, if you want to see and hear about some amazing success stories about the Power of Propolis, keep reading.

Customer Story #1

Laurie heard on FaceBook about an old high school friend who had undergone elbow surgery and was having difficulty getting the little 2″ wound to heal. It had been 2 months since the surgery, the doctors had tried all kinds of treatments, yet the wound was still gaping open and weeping. This fellow, a law enforcement officer, was using up all his sick leave. Laurie sent him a tube of our BEE Rescue to try. He took pictures for us to document what happened.

2 month old elbow surgical wound

This is what his wound looked like after 2 months of treatment by his doctors, trying to get this to close up.

Wound had closed up after five days of using BEE Rescue Cream.

He got the BEE Rescue and started using it, applying three times a day. He was able to go back to work at this point.

Wound after one moth of treatment with BEE Rescue

He continued using the BEE Rescue Cream and took this picture after one month. He said he continued to use the BEE Rescue Cream after this and said it diminished the scar into a almost indiscernible line.

Customer Story #2

Larry, a 60 something diabetic was working on his running lawnmower one day a few summers ago, when he fell over it. he gashed his calf open and had to be rushed to the ER. He received 20+ stitches. Three weeks later, he called and asked for BEE Rescue. At this point, his wound was black, oozing infection and gangrenous. It was strongly recommended that he go to the hospital, but he refused. He stated he was going to use the propolis cream. He also volunteered to have his wife take a picture each week to document his progress.

Larry’s leg wound 3 weeks after falling over a running lawnmower

This is what his wound looked like before he started using BEE Rescue Cream.

Larry’s wound after one week of twice a day BEE Rescue Cream dressing.

Larry had his wife put BEE Rescue Cream on his wound twice a day an re-bandage it. This is the result, after one week! All the gangrenous tissue is gone.
The infection is gone and a soft scab is starting to form. AMAZING! And look at the skin around the wound. It looks better, too.

Larry’s leg after 4 weeks with BEE Rescue put on 2 times a day.

They continued to put BEE Rescue Cream on the wound twice a day.

Pretty amazing transformation using BEE Rescue Cream for 10 weeks.

And here it is after 10 weeks, with twice a day Bee Rescue Cream treatment.

Customer #3

A young couple bought BEE Rescue from us at a festival a few years ago. They used it on their chickens, on pecking wounds. Here are the before and after pictures, 5 days apart.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

A few weeks ago, I did a presentation on the health benefits of bee hive resources at our local town hall. Afterwards, a lady asked me if I knew if propolis helped with non-alcoholic fatty liver. I told her I would do some research and find out. Here are some studies I found on the National Institutes of Health website, nih.gov.

7 oz. of raw propolis collected frrom one of our hives

A study entitled, Does propolis have any effect on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? (by Kismet, K., et al) has been published in in the June 2017 edition of Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. In this study, 2 different doses of propolis were given to rats who had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD, and none given to a control group. Propolis showed a positive effect on the liver tissues upon microscopic examination and also improvement in the biochemistry of the liver tissue. No difference was noted between the two different doses of propolis used. The positive effects of propolis on NAFLD are related to the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of propolis.

Another study entitled Propolis Decrease Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis in Mice was published in 2010 in the international Journal of Morphology. Hepatic Steatosis is another name for fatty liver. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) covers a wide spectrum of injuries ranging from simple degeneration by fat deposits to cirrhosis and liver cell cancer. Its main risk factors are disorders associated with metabolic syndrome (MS). Propolis, a resinous substance produced by honey bee to protect is hive, has demonstrated a hepatoprotective (liver protective) effect.

This study tested the effect of Chilean propolis on mice with NAFLD. Diets of the test groups were supplemented with 10 mg/kg of propolis or 40 mg/kg of propolis, per day. The propolis fed groups showed a gradual decrease in the degeneration by fat deposits and a decrease in inflammation. It was concluded that the Chilean propolis decreased NAFLD , but that the mechanisms that caused this still must be identified.

A third study called, The liver-protective properties of the pediatric drug form of propolis in animals of different age groups was done by Drogovoz SM, et. al. Propolis was studied in experiments on albino rats of various age with toxic liver damages of various duration. In all models of liver abnormalities, propolis was found to show antioxidative properties which were moderate (30-60%). In addition, there were improvements in liver secretion of bile, cholic acids, and cholesterol.

From these studies, it appears that propolis may be a possible contributor to NAFLD treatment, someday.

Isaiah 58:8

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,and your healing will quickly appear;then your righteousness will go before you,and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people. A person’s brain slowly stops producing a neurotransmitter called dopamine. With less and less dopamine, a person has less and less ability to regulate their movements, body and emotions. Symptoms take years to develop, and people can live for years with the disease.

In Alzheimer’s disease, a process of degeneration still not fully understood, disrupts the communication network in the brain. In the brain, neurons connect and communicate at synapses, where tiny bursts of chemicals called neurotransmitters carry information from one cell to another. Alzheimer’s disrupts this process, and eventually destroys synapses and kills neurons.

Medications called Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors are used in the treatment of neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. MAOIs are also used for depressive disorders. MAOI medications elevate the levels of norepinephrine,

by inhibiting an enzyme called monoamine oxidase (MAO). Monoamine oxidase breaks down norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine. When monoamine oxidase is inhibited, norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are not broken down, increasing the concentration of all three neurotransmitters in the brain. This can improve symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

In 2013, scientists at Karadeniz Technical University, in Turkey conducted a study of honey bee products – honey, pollen and propolis – to see if they had any capacity to inhibit MAO. They treated MAO extracted from rat tissue. The three bee products exhibited substantial inhibition of MAO, propolis having the highest effect. Inhibition was related to samples’ phenolic content and antioxidant capacities.

The study suggests that the inhibition of MAO activity may lessen the process of aging. This study suggests that these apitherapeutic products may also have a role in the treatment of depressive disorders and some neurodegenerative illnesses. In the light of this study, more extensive and detailed studies on specific MAO-A and MAO-B inhibition activity are now needed.

How does this study translate into future treatments for Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diseases? No one knows…

But it is exciting that natural bee products are being researched for all kinds of health issues.

Isaiah 58:9-11

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,with the pointing finger and malicious talk,10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungryand satisfy the needs of the oppressed,then your light will rise in the darkness,and your night will become like the noonday.11 The Lord will guide you always;he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched landand will strengthen your frame.You will be like a well-watered garden,like a spring whose waters never fail.

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

Fall is officially here and the nights are getting cooler but the daytime temperatures are unpredictable! The temperature can range from high 80’s to somewhere in the 50’s. We never know what to expect! But the bees’ activities this time of year, are always the same. It is time for them to get ready for the coming winter. In the fall, the bees work hard to get a last load of flower nectar into their hive, to make their honey-food for winter. The nectar comes mainly from goldenrod and asters this time of year, giving the fall honey a darker color and bolder taste, For some of us, it is the favorite of all!

If there is an abundance of nectar flowing and not too much rain, the bees will be able to fill up lots of frames of nectar, which they will fan with their tiny wings, to evaporate it down to sweet, dark, flavorful honey. And if they make more than what they need for winter (typically about 100 pounds), they we get to pull some honey frames off for us!! We can’t wait! The bees also collect lots of resin from the trees and use it to make extra propolis in the fall. They will use this sticky goo to seal the hive for winter, filling all the cracks and crevices with globs of propolis and covering all the surfaces with a thin layer. Propolis also kills bacteria, viruses and molds that might be present in the hive, keeping it sanitary and healthy as they head into winter.

We made a trip out to our bee yards this week, to check on our bees and see if there was any fall honey for us. We found some hives thriving and some sort of struggling along. We took notes and made plans to check again in a few weeks when the goldenrod and aster nectar flow is over. Then, we might need to feed some of the smaller hives, to help them build up their stores for winter. We noted some smaller hives that may have difficulty making it through the winter. We are thinking about trying the 2 queen method where you place a weaker hive atop a stronger hive with 2 queen excluders and a box of honey between them. Combining them this way allows the worker bees from both hives to pass through the excluders to get around both hives to move take care of larvae, move honey stores around and help take care of both queens. We will get out into our apiaries at the beginning of November to decide this, and to prepare our hives for winter.

We also found about 5 boxes of honey we can pull in a few weeks, once it is capped. We are excited about having sweet dark fall honey! The boxes we pull off are in addition to the honey we will leave for the bees. They will need between 80 and 100 pound to eat during th
e winter so they have energy to shiver their flight muscles, generating heat to keep the queen at 93 degrees all winter!

And our best discovery working in our bee yards was finding several hives that are making tons of propolis. On one hive it was dripping down the sides! We got 7 ounces – mostly from one hive – that was in our way and had to be removed. Most beekeepers would be cursing it and tossing
it over their shoulder into the grass after scraping it off. But we celebrate because we know how precious it is as a natural health substance. It’s like gold, to us. Our gift from the bees. We have read scores and scores of research on propolis and know it has shown to be antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. We will use our propolis to make dietary supplements, skin care, shaving products, soaps, and lip balms, all fortified with propolis, because we want everyone to know about propolis and be able to have access to it.

Powered by BEES!

TO ALL BEEKEEPERS:

What are you doing with your propolis? Don’t throw it away!

Since you have to clean your hives anyway, why not make some money doing it!

We buy propolis by the pound. Save it in baggies as you clean up your equipment.

Store it in the freezer and call us when you have a pound or more.

We will email you the instructions on how to clean it and give you a price.

We also buy: Beeswax, Honey and Pollen!

Email us:BEEpothecary@gmail.com

1 Peter 1:6-8

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

Another question recently came to us after a propolis presentation at a Beekeepers Club Meeting. The question was whether propolis was safe to take every day and specifically what effect it had on gut bacteria. So, back to the research sites I go.

Propolis has a complex chemical composition. Researchers found between 104 and 149 different chemicals from samples of propolis collected from around the world. These compounds are grouped in seven categories: aliphatic acids, aromatic acids, esters, di- and triterpenes, flavonoids, sugars and miscellaneous. It is not surprising that propolis has anti-microbial properties.

The question is, if it can inhibit the growth of gastric pathogens like H. pylori, what effect would it have on the normal intestinal microflora or probiotics taken for therapeutic reasons. The aim of one research project was to grow two typical intestinal/probiotic bacteria, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium infantis, in milk . Different concentrations of propolis were added to the milk to test whether propolis would affect their growth and/or metabolism.

The bacteria in milk in the presence of propolis may not reflect their reaction in the intestine, but at least the tests might indicate if medicines containing propolis could effect the intestinal flora or probiotics.

Six concentrations of propolis were used – 0, 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 mg/100 ml of milk. (A scant tsp. of 10% propolis tincture provides 333 mg of propolis). The impact of propolis on both bacteria was concentration dependent. The propolis extract had an adverse effect on the growth of Bif. infantis but was stimulatory to L. acidophilus. The strong antibacterial properties of propolis appear to have affected Bif. infantis more than L. acidophilus. at even at 100 mg of propolis.

Although propolis had an adverse effect on the growth of the bifidobacteria, it did have a desirable influence on the release of beneficial fatty acids. In humans, these fatty acids play an essential role in maintaining the healthy status of the GI tract. A low concentration of propolis (1.0 mg/ml) stimulated a dramatic secretion of these acids. Thus, patients using propolis might, (despite a possible decline in bifidobacteria), be getting considerable benefit from this increase of fatty acids.

It is not known if propolis ingested, reaches the lower GI tract but it is feasible, if 2-3 g is taken for periods longer than 2 weeks. If one took propolis for two weeks, then any fall in the population of bifidobacteria would probably pass unnoticed by the patient. But it would interesting to know whether loose stools or mild diarrhea accompanies long term usage of propolis extracts. One could remedy this by eating a yogurt containing a high count of Bifidobacterium.

Propolis is highly regarded as a medicine with anti-bacterial properties and this study indicates that it could have a positive impact on the intestinal microflora. The fact that there could be a further benefit for those taking propolis to cure a disease is an attractive prospect. The full research article can be found at: Propolis stimulating to good gut bacteria.

Another study, done on rats, showed that propolis had a significant protective effect on ileal mucosa (lining of part of the small intestine) and reduced the leaking of bacteria through the intestinal wall to other organs. This study can be found at: Propolis – GI issues .

Four generations of our family take propolis – some daily, some three times a day when treating an illness – and not of us have experienced the worsening of gastrointestinal issues. In some cases, gastro issues have improved. Many believe propolis and other natural products are safer for our intestinal flora while treating harmful germs, than taking pharmaceuticals, that are known to destroy many good gut bacteria.

Health- Powered by bees!

Psalm 145

1 I will exalt you, my God the King;

I will praise your name for ever and ever.

2 Every day I will praise you

and extol your name for ever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;his greatness no one can fathom.4 One generation commends your works to another;they tell of your mighty acts.5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b]6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—and I will proclaim your great deeds.7 They celebrate your abundant goodnessand joyfully sing of your righteousness.